Acting on orders of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, SIPA officers arrested the suspect Nikola Marić aka "Nidža " - born on January 28, 1958 year in Borovica a place located in Prozor municipality - who is under investigation for Crimes against Humanity.
He is suspected to have, as a member of the HVO, committed the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity under Article 172 of the CC BiH in the Prozor-Rama area during the period from 1992 to 1993.
The suspect Marić was unavailable to BiH judiciary for years, an international arrest warrant was issued for him some two years ago, and according to the findings of the police authorities he was hiding on the territory of the Republic of Croatia and crossing into Bosnia and Herzegovina illegally.
He was detained in a swift operation of SIPA and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH upon receipt of citizen report that he was located in the vicinity of Prozor. A swift operation of search and arrest of the suspect, who was dressed in a uniform reminiscent of a forester uniform quickly followed.
This arrest signals cooperation and trust among the representatives of the judiciary, the police and citizens in the process of identifying and prosecuting the war crimes perpetrators, and it also sends a message to all suspects hiding from justice that the judiciary and the police are searching for them and that they will be prosecuted.
Nikola Marić is suspected to have personally participated in the killings, persecution, torture, forcible transfer, unlawful incarceration and torture of dozens of Bosniak victims in the Prozor-Rama area.
Nikola Marić is, inter alia, suspected of torture and abuse of civilians in an extremely brutal manner in the presence of their family members, and of personally participating in the killings and the forced disappearance of 11 persons.
Some of these killings were committed in a cruel way, against the old and helpless who could not fight back. The bodies of six persons have yet to be found.
After the arrest, the suspect will be handed over to the Assigned Prosecutor who shall question the suspects and then file a motion for remand in custody to the Court of BiH, given that the suspect was on the run.
The Prosecutor's Office of BiH continues its efforts in this case aiming to indict.